System and Method for Managing Server Configurations

ABSTRACT

A computer system comprises servers running application programs which are controlled, at least in part, by configuration parameters. The parameters are updated by first updating a database of configuration parameters, and then automatically updating the servers in accordance with the database updates to automatically maintain synchronization between the server configuration and the database.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/766,473, filed Jan. 19, 2001, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/565,270, filed May 5, 2000, which are bothincorporated herein by reference This application is also related to thefollowing co-pending applications: U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/565,520, filed May 5, 2000; U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/565,270, filed May 5, 2000; U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/565,269, filed May 5, 2000; and U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/565,268, filed May 5, 2000. The disclosures of each of theseco-pending applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The invention relates to computer networks. In particular, the inventionrelates to managing network server configurations.

2. Description of Related Art

Explosive growth of the Internet, and in particular e-commerce, hasresulted in a dramatic increase in the rate at which companies andindividuals are creating network resources such as World-Wide-Web sites,email accounts, and the like. Most companies do not have a directconnection to the Internet and thus contract with a web hosting company,or Internet service provider (ISP), to provide access to the Internetand to host the resources they wish to make available to other Internetusers.

Typically a web hosting service provider may provide a wide range ofe-commerce, application hosting, and connectivity services. For example,a company or individual may contract with a web hosting company toprovide a specified amount of memory on a server for the company toestablish and maintain its web site. In addition, the company maycontract for other types of services, such as, for example, emailservices, secure socket layer (SSL), file transfer protocol (FTP)service, database services, and real media service allowing streamingaudio and video from the company's web site.

After a company or individual has established its initial set ofservices with a web hosting service provider, they may wish to changethe services it has contracted for. For example, if the company had notoriginally contracted for real media service, it may wish to add thisfeature to its web site. Typically, when a company wants to change theservices it has contracted for, a request for the desired change wouldbe communicated to the web hosting service provider. At the web hostingservice provider, a system administrator would determine if the newservices are available to the requesting company and which networkservers of the web host's system should be configured to accommodate therequested configuration. The system administrator would then access theappropriate server and change the server configuration to conform to therequested change. In some instances, accessing the appropriate servermay require the system administrator to travel to a remote site where aserver is located. At some facilities, this process was partiallyautomated by programming the servers with scripts that performed sometasks of the configuration process. However, administrator access to theserver was still required to implement the configuration changes.

In addition, web hosting service providers must maintain accuraterecords of the server configurations. The records of the serverconfigurations allow the web hosting service provider to monitorequipment utilization to help determine, for example, when increasedcustomer demand would justify upgrading existing equipment, or bringingadditional equipment on line. Accurate records are also required toensure proper billing of companies contracting for the servicesprovided. To both maintain server configurations according to customerdesires, and to simultaneously track server configurations as they arealtered over time, a system administrator would both update serverconfigurations and also update a database containing informationregarding server configurations. Requiring the system administrator toupdate a database is prone to errors in the entry, as well asinadvertently failing to record a configuration change that was made.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus toimprove the speed and efficiency of matching server configurations withcustomer desires. In addition, there is a need in the art for a methodand apparatus to improve the recording and monitoring of networkequipment configuration.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, the invention comprises a method of synchronizingconfiguration parameters on a server with a database of storedconfiguration parameters comprising automatically updating theconfiguration parameters on the server in response to updating thedatabase of stored configuration parameters. Systems for processinginformation are also provided. In one embodiment, such a systemcomprises a plurality of network servers having application programsrunning thereon, the application programs comprising configurationparameters defining at least some aspect of application programoperation, and a database storing at least some of the configurationparameters. In this embodiment, a communication link connecting thedatabase to the plurality of network servers is provided to transfer theconfiguration parameters to the plurality of network servers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 as a diagram of a computer network in one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a screen display of a login screen for modifying configurationparameters.

FIG. 3 is a screen display allowing updates to a configuration parameterdatabase.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an automated server configuration process inone embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of one method of user updating of a configurationdatabase.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of one method of user updating of a configurationdatabase.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a server manager system in accordance withone embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the server daemon of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a server table of FIG. 5.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of the site table of FIG. 5.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of a first application program table of FIG.5.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of a second application program table of FIG.5.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart of a method of assigning network addresses tonetwork resources.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying Figures, wherein like numerals refer to like elementsthroughout. The terminology used in the description presented herein isnot intended to be interpreted in any limited or restrictive manner,simply because it is being utilized in conjunction with a detaileddescription of certain specific embodiments of the invention.Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may include several novelfeatures, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirableattributes or which is essential to practicing the inventions hereindescribed.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary computer network 10 connecting one or morecomputing machines. The network 10 may be any type of electronicallyconnected group of computers including, for instance, the followingnetworks: Internet, Intranet, Local Area Networks (LAN), Wide AreaNetworks (WAN) or an interconnected combination of these network types.In addition, the connectivity within the network 10 may be, for example,remote modem, Ethernet (IEEE 802.3), Token Ring (IEEE 802.5), FiberDistributed Datalink Interface (FDDI), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM),or any other communication protocol. Computing devices linked to thenetwork may be desktop, server, portable, hand-held, set-top box,personal digital assistant (PDA), a terminal, or any other desired typeor configuration. Depending on their functionality, the networkconnected devices may vary widely in processing power, internal memory,and other performance aspects. Communications within the network and toor from the computing devices connected to the network may be eitherwired or wireless. Wireless communication is especially advantageous fornetwork connected portable or hand-held devices. The network 10 mayinclude, at least in part, the world-wide public Internet whichgenerally connects a plurality of users in accordance with aclient-server model in accordance with the transmission controlprotocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) specification. A client-servernetwork is a dominant model for communicating between two computers.Using this relationship, a client computer (the “client”) issues one ormore commands to a server computer (the “server”). The server fulfillsclient commands by accessing available network resources and returninginformation to the client pursuant to client commands. During thisprocess, client computer systems and network resources resident on thenetwork servers are assigned a network address for identification duringcommunications between elements of the network. Communications fromother network connected systems to the servers will include the networkaddress of the relevant server/network resource as part of thecommunication so that the appropriate destination of the data/request isidentified as the recipient. When the network 10 comprises the globalInternet, the network address is an IP address in the TCP/IP formatwhich may, at least in part, route data to an e-mail account, aweb-site, or other Internet tool resident on the server. In this way,information and services which are resident on the network servers maybe available to the web browser of a client computer through a domainname (e.g. www.site.com) which maps to the IP address of the networkserver.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of clients 12, 14, and 16 are connectedto the network 10 via respective communication links. Typically, each ofthese clients may access the network 10 via any desired form ofcommunication, such as via a dial-up modem connection, cable link, adigital subscriber line (DSL), wireless or satellite link, or any otherform of communication. Each client may communicate using any machinethat is compatible with the network 10, such as a personal computer(PC), work station, dedicated terminal, personal data assistant (PDA),or other similar equipment. The clients 12, 14, and 16 may or may not belocated in the same geographical area.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of servers 22, 24, and 26 are connectedto the network 10 to serve clients that are in communication with thenetwork 10. Each server is typically a powerful computer or device thatmanages network resources and responds to client commands. As is knownin the art, the servers include computer readable data storage mediasuch as hard disk drives and RAM memory that store program instructionsand data. Using such stored programs, the servers 22, 24, 26 runapplication programs that respond to client commands. As shown in FIG.1, for example, the server 22 may run a web server application forresponding to client requests for HTML pages. It may also run a mailserver application for receiving and routing electronic mail. Otherapplication programs, such as an FTP server or a media server forstreaming audio/video data to clients may also be running on the server22. In some cases, different servers may be dedicated to performingdifferent tasks. For example, the server 22 may be a dedicated webserver that manages resources relating to web sites for various users,whereas the server 24 may be dedicated to provide electronic mail(email) management. Other servers may be dedicated for media (audio,video, etc.), file transfer protocol (FTP), or a combination of any twoor more services that are typically available or provided over anetwork. Each server may be in a location that is the same as ordifferent from that of other servers. Moreover, there may be multipleservers that perform mirrored tasks for users, thereby relievingcongestion or minimizing traffic directed to and from a single server.In one embodiment of the invention, the servers 22, 24, 26 are under thecontrol of a web hosting provider in the business of maintaining anddelivering third party content over the network 10.

Web hosting providers deliver services to two different types ofclients. One type, referred to herein as a “browser”, requests contentfrom the servers 22, 24, 26 such as web pages, email messages, videoclips, etc. A second type of client, referred to herein as a “user”,hires the web hosting provider to maintain a network resource such as aweb site, and to make it available to browsers. Users contract with theweb hosting provider to make memory space, processor capacity, andcommunication bandwidth available for their desired network resource,generally paying the web hosting provider in accordance with the amountof server resources the user desires to utilize.

In order for the web hosting provider to provide services for both ofthese clients, application programs which manage the network resourceshosted by the servers must be properly configured. The programconfiguration process generally involves defining a set of parameterswhich control, at least in part, the application program's response tobrowser requests and which also define, at least in part, the serverresources available to a particular user. In conventional web hostingenvironments, only network administrators associated with the webhosting company that owned the servers 22, 24, 26 were allowed access tothe application program parameters to change application programoperation so as to modify, for example, the amount of storage spaceallocated to a given user's web site. This helped insure tight controlof the web hosting service provider over application programconfiguration. However, all user requests for new server resources or areconfiguration of their existing resources required human intervention,which is slow and relatively expensive.

In one embodiment of the invention, however, the user is provided accessto application program parameters in a manner which still ensuresadequate control over program configuration by the web hosting serviceprovider. In one embodiment, an intranet server 30 is in communicationwith the network 10 via a communication link. The intranet server 30 isin communication with a server manager 32. The server manager 32comprises a database of the application program configuration parameterswhich are being utilized in the servers 22, 24, 26. In this embodiment,users modify the database 34 via the intranet 30, and the server manager32 interacts with the servers 22, 24, 26 to modify application programparameters so that they match the content of the database. In a typicaloperation, a user logs onto the intranet server 30 by connecting to theintranet 30 via computer 12 and entering authentication information,such as a username and password. An example screen display for enteringthis information is provided in FIG. 2.

In some advantageous embodiments, when the user wishes to sign up fornew service or modify an existing service, the intranet server 30authenticates the user (via the screen display of FIG. 2 for example)and provides the user with a interactive screen display/control panelthat allows the user to access configuration parameters for a particularapplication program. One example of such an interactive screen displayis illustrated in FIG. 3. In this embodiment, the user is presented witha number of modifiable text boxes that describe aspects of theconfiguration of the user's web site or other network resource.

For example, if a user desires to increase memory space reserved on aserver for its web site, the user is provided with a “memory space”field 36 (FIG. 3) in which the user specifies the desired memory space.In response to receiving this information, the intranet server 30updates the database 34. The server manager 32 forwards this informationto the appropriate server, and the new parameter is used duringapplication program operation. Thus, the intranet server 30 isconfigured to provide users with access to configuration parameters ofhosted network resources (e.g., web pages, email, FTP sites, mediasites, etc.), for which a user has contracted with the web hostingservice provider.

As will be described in additional detail below, the configurationparameters may be stored in the database 34 in the format of a pluralityof tables. When the user modifies the desired configuration parameter(e.g., memory space) for its web site, the intranet server 30communicates such modification along with user identificationinformation to the server manager 32. In turn, the server manager 32updates one or more tables that include this parameter. Once the one ormore tables are updated in the server manager 32, the server manager 32communicates one or more commands to one or more of the servers 22, 24,and 26 indicating that the one or more tables of the server manager 32has been modified. In one embodiment, the servers are configured to runa dedicated program (e.g., a daemon) that is triggered to retrieve themodified parameter from the updated table of the server manager 32. Asis known in the art, a daemon commonly refers to a process that runs inthe background and performs a specified operation at predefined times orin response to certain events. After being triggered by the servermanager 32, the daemon updates the configuration of the applicationprogram (e.g., web server) with the retrieved parameter. One embodimentof this process is described in further detail in the description of theprocesses of FIGS. 4-6. Generally, the intranet server 30, servermanager 32, and network servers 22, 24, 26 are all under the managementand control of the web hosting service provider. In some embodiments,these computers will be located in a single facility and connected to acommon local area network. In other embodiments, these computers arewidely separated geographically and may communicate over the publicInternet. The computers 12, 14, 16, utilized by the users to access theintranet 30 will generally be geographically remote from the servermanager 32 and the servers 22, 24, 26, although it will be appreciatedthat one or more of these devices 12, 14, 16 may be directly connectedto the intranet 30 or other LAN which includes the server manager 32.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of updating a server configuration.The process begins in block 40, where a centralized database is updatedwith selected parameters to make the desired change to the configurationof a selected application program. This modification to the database maybe made by a user, as described above, or by a network administratorassociated with the web hosting service provider. After the centralizeddatabase has been updated, flow continues to block 42. In block 42, aprogram residing on a selected server, commonly referred to as a daemon,is initiated or triggered. When the daemon program is triggered, it willread the modified fields in the updated centralized database. Flow thencontinues to block 44. In block 44, the daemon, using the parametersfrom the modified fields of the centralized database, will update orsynchronize the server configuration with the updated centralizeddatabase fields accordingly. In this way, a database of serverconfigurations is kept consistent with the actual server configurationsautomatically and with little or no human intervention.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are flowcharts illustrating a specific embodiment of amethod of modification of a server configuration in response to a userrequest. Process flow begins in block 48. In block 50, a user logs on tothe web hosting Intranet server. In block 52, user access to theIntranet server is authenticated. User authorization may be determinedthrough a set of criteria, or “business rules.” For example, user accessmay be denied if the user does not have a valid account, or if the useris not current in their account balance.

If user access is not authorized, flow continues to block 54. In block54, user access to the web hosting Intranet is denied and flow loopsback to block 50. Returning to block 54, if user access is authorized,flow continues to block 56. In block 56, the user selects an applicationprogram parameter to change. For example, the user may select a webserver configuration application program and request the amount ofmemory allocated to the user website be modified, such as, for example,to increase the memory allocated from 5 megabytes to 10 megabytes. Inanother example, the user may select an email application program. Forexample, the user may add new email accounts or delete existing ones.After the user has selected the application program parameter desired tobe changed, flow continues to block 58.

In block 58, the application program parameter selected by the user ischecked to determine if it is a parameter the user is allowed to modify.If the user has selected a parameter it is not allowed to modify, suchas, for example, attempting to modify a service the user has notcontracted for, flow continues to block 60. In block 60, the user isnotified that the desired selection has been denied. Flow then continuesto block 58. If the user has selected a parameter that is allowed to bemodified, flow continues to block 62. In block 62, the user modifies theselected parameter as desired. In some embodiments, these process stepsare accomplished by routing a control panel to the user which onlyallows the user access to those parameters the user is allowed tochange. Referring back to FIG. 3, for example, a web-site modificationcontrol panel is illustrated which allows the user to modify someaspects of host service but not others. As described above, a spacefield allows the user to modify the space allocated to the site.However, the host server that the site is resident on and the associatedIP address of the site are shown on the control panel, but are not usermodifiable. In block 64, the modified parameter is communicated to theserver manager. Flow then continues to block 66. In block 66, the servermanager evaluates the modified parameter and determines which table ortables are required to be updated in the server manager database. Flowthen continues to block 70 in FIG. 6.

In block 70, the server manager updates the tables in the database withthe modified parameters. In block 72, the server manager determineswhich server to synchronize with the updated database reflecting theuser request. The server manager may determine a single serverconfiguration is to be updated, or that a plurality of serverconfigurations are to be updated, in response to the user request. Flowthen continues to block 74.

In block 74, the server manager instructs the desired server, orplurality of servers, to update their configuration settings. Typically,updating of server configuration settings is performed by a serverresident program, such as, for example, a daemon program as describedabove. Flow then continues to block 76.

In block 76, the server being reconfigured determines if it can acceptthe instructions and reconfigure itself in the desired manner. Forexample, if a request of additional memory for a web site is received bya server, the server will determine if there is sufficient memoryavailable to perform the desired reconfiguration. If the server isunable to accept and perform the instructions, flow continues to block78.

In block 78, the server communicates its inability to accept and performthe requested instructions by notifying the server manager of an error.Flow then continues to block 80. In block 80, the server manager uponreceiving the error message restores the previous settings of parametersin the database tables. By restoring the previous settings of parametersin the tables, the server manager database remains synchronized with theserver configuration. Flow then continues to block 82. In block 82, anerror is reported to the user notifying the user that the requestedmodification was not performed. Flow then continues to block 84 whereflow ends.

Returning to block 76, if the server accepts the instruction and canperform the reconfiguration, flow continues to block 88. In block 88,the server modifies the server configuration in accordance with theupdated configuration settings. Flow then continues to block 90. Inblock 90, the server confirms to the user that the requestedmodification has been performed. Because the server has beensuccessfully reconfigured, the server manager database is synchronizedwith the server configuration. It is possible, if the server beingreconfigured is down, for example, that no error message or confirmationmessage is received by the server manager. In this case, the databasemodification will be reversed, and an error reported, as described abovewhen an explicit error message is received. Flow then continues to block84 where the process ends.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating software modules that reside onthe server manager 32 and the servers 22, 24, 26 that the server manager32 communicates with. As described briefly above, the server manager 32comprises a database that may advantageously be configured as aplurality of tables containing information about the configuration ofthe network servers. Although the server configuration information inthis specific embodiment is in the form of a plurality of tables, a widevariety of data formats could be used.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, a server table 94 may be provided thatcontains information about the servers the server manager 32 isdesignated to communicate configuration parameters to. One embodiment ofa server table is illustrated in FIG. 9. Another table 96 includesinformation about the network resources such as web-sites, emailaccounts, and the like that are present on the servers. This table mayinclude information about location and properties of all networkresources present on the servers. An embodiment of this site table isillustrated in FIG. 10. A network address table 98 contains informationabout each set of network addresses assigned to respective servers. Thistable is discussed in additional detail below.

Also advantageously provided are one or more application program tables100. These tables contain information about the configuration of aselected application program that is running on one or more of theservers 22, 24, 26. For example, a web server table includes informationon all web site resources such as server location, capacity, and thelike that operate under the control of the web server applicationprogram. Similarly, a media server table includes information (such as,for example, maximum allowable number of simultaneously deliveredstreams) on all network resources that include media delivery capabilityand that use the media server application program to deliver mediacontent to browsers.

A request queue 110 may be provided that stores requests to add to ormodify the information present in the database tables. A FIFO queue mayadvantageously be utilized, and if desired, the request queue 110 can beconfigured to suspend modification requests under certain circumstances.For example, requests from a particular user may be suspended because ofpayment collection issues, for example, or requests which appear to beuser errors, such as deleting an entire web site from the servers, canbe suspended pending further investigation.

A dispatch module 112 is used to download information to the servers 22,24, 26 when the tables have been modified or new information is added.The dispatch module triggers a daemon 116 that is resident on eachserver 22, 24, 26. As described above, the daemon is configured toreceive the modified or new parameters from the server manager 32, andto reconfigure the application programs 120 such as web server, mediaserver, etc.

FIG. 8 illustrates one daemon 116 embodiment in additional detail. Inthis embodiment, the daemon 116 includes an I/O module 122 forcommunicating with the server manager 32. Also present is a triggermodule 124 which receives a message from the server manager 32 that theserver configuration needs to be updated in order to maintainsynchronization with the database. Upon receiving this message, thetrigger module 124 initiates the operation of an update module 126 andan error detection module 128. The update module receives theconfiguration data from the server manager 32, and modifies theapplication programs 120 accordingly. If the application programs acceptthe re-configuration, the error detection module sends a message to theserver manager that the re-configuration has been successful. Asdescribed above, if no such message is received by the server manager32, the database 34 is returned to its original state.

Returning now to the data stored in the database 34, FIGS. 9-12illustrate specific embodiments of several of the data tables in theembodiment of FIG. 7 described above. It will be appreciated that theseembodiments are only specific examples, and that more or fewer tablefields could be provided depending on the information required toproperly configure the application programs being used and the trackinginformation that the web hosting service provider would find useful infacility and customer management.

In FIG. 9, one embodiment of a server table 94 is illustrated. In thisembodiment, only two fields are provided, an ID field 132 and adescription field 134. The ID field comprises a unique name for themachine, and the description field may include a wide variety ofinformation such as operating system, serial number, physical locationof the machine, and the like. Of course, the description field 134 couldbe separated into several fields dedicated to specific serverinformation.

In FIG. 10, one embodiment of a site table 96 is illustrated. This tablecomprises a comprehensive list of all of the network resources such asweb sites that are on the servers controlled by the server manager 32.This table may include a field 140 for a unique site identificationnumber (generally assigned by the web hosting service provider), a field142 identifying the physical machine/server the site is resident on, afield 144 for storing the user password to access site information andmodification tools, and a field 146 for the domain name if applicable.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate application program tables. In FIG. 11, oneembodiment of a table for media servers is illustrated. This table mayinclude a field 150 for a site ID for each site having media deliverycapacity. The table may also include a server ID field 152, identifyingthe server the site is located on, the field 154 for the space allocatedfor the site, and a field 156 for the maximum number of simultaneouslydeliverable media streams. In FIG. 12, a web server table isillustrated. This table advantageously also includes a field 160 for thesite ID, a field 162 for the host server, and a field 164 for allocatedspace. The table may also include a field 166 for the site IP address.Additional fields 168, 170 for RAM memory and CPU allocation to the website may be provided in this table.

During the table update process, the server manager 32 may derive orcreate and then enter the derived information into certain fieldswithout a user specifying the field data. For example, if a usermodifies the space allocated to their web site from 10 to 500 MB, thesite may need to be moved to another physical server. If this is needed,the server manager 32 may be programmed to select a new server withoutfurther user input based on loading or available space considerations.The server selection is then entered into the appropriate table fields.

IP address designation is another example of a configuration parameterthat may be performed automatically by the server manager 32. Forexample, if a new network resource such as a web site is being added bya new or existing customer, or if an existing site is being moved to anew physical server, an IP address must be assigned to the site beingcreated or moved. An IP address is selected by searching the networkaddress table 98 (FIG. 7) for an unused IP address assigned to theserver that the network resource is to be resident on.

One advantageous embodiment of this process is illustrated in FIG. 13.As shown in this Figure, to facilitate the search for unused IPaddresses, at block 176 the normal four field IP address such as the IPaddress 123.45.255.1, is stored in a single field representation such as123452551, therefore becoming simply a stored integer. The networkaddress table 98 thus comprises blocks of integers associated withcorresponding servers. At block 178, the integers in each block in thetable are arranged in ascending or descending numerical order. Integersin the table corresponding to currently used IP addresses are tagged.

When a new IP address needs to be allocated to a network resource, thenetwork address table is searched for an unused IP address. This searchis performed quickly using the single field representation because thesearch algorithm simply starts at the lowest IP address assigned to therelevant server and searches numerically upward until an availableaddress is found. In this embodiment, therefore, the system determinesat decision block 180 of FIG. 13 whether or not a first numericallyrepresented IP address is already assigned to a network resource. If itis not, the process moves to block 182 and assigns this address to thenew resource. If the first address is assigned, the next numerical IPaddress is checked at decision block 184. If this address is assigned,the system continues checking the next numerical IP address. Once anunused IP address is identified, the system moves to block 182 andassigns the unused address. When the next address is to be assigned, thesystem again starts at the first numerical address at block 180, andagain increments numerically until the first available address isidentified. This procedure results in fast search times, and guaranteesthat IP addresses are used efficiently without wasting unused addressesin the middle of the block assigned to a given server that may havebecome available due to the deletion of a previously supported web siteor other network resource.

Thus, utilizing the above described principles, the entire process ofmodifying server configuration and maintaining synchronization with adatabase that has the current server configuration stored therein may beperformed automatically and without any intervention on the part of anetwork administrator at the web hosting service provider facility.Control over server configuration is maintained, an accurate centralizeddatabase of information for use by the administrator for allocatingresources, user billing, and other management functions is provided,while at the same time providing a reduction in labor and cost overconventional server configuration management techniques.

The foregoing description details certain embodiments of the invention.It will be appreciated, however, that no matter how detailed theforegoing appears in text, the invention can be practiced in many ways.As is also stated above, it should be noted that the use of particularterminology when describing certain features or aspects of the inventionshould not be taken to imply that the terminology is being re-definedherein to be restricted to including any specific characteristics of thefeatures or aspects of the invention with which that terminology isassociated. The scope of the invention should therefore be construed inaccordance with the appended claims and any equivalents thereof.

1. A method comprising: receiving a trigger from an external databasemanagement program, the trigger indicating a change to a configurationparameter associated with an application program; and responsive to thetrigger, updating the configuration parameter of the applicationprogram.
 2. A system comprising: memory having stored thereon programcode; and a processor that is programmed by at least the program codeto: receive a trigger from an external database management program, thetrigger indicating a change to a configuration parameter associated withan application program; and responsive to the trigger, update theconfiguration parameter of the application program.
 3. A systemcomprising: means for receiving a trigger from an external databasemanagement program, the trigger indicating a change to a configurationparameter associated with an application program; and means, responsiveto the trigger means, for updating the configuration parameter of theapplication program.